SeaPRwire

Fee for passport, identity card collection at SingPost outlets will be waived from Oct 1

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singaporeans will no longer need to pay a fee when collecting their passport or identity card (IC) at SingPost outlets from Oct 1. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Wednesday (Sept 22) that it will bear the cost to provide the convenience. In a statement, senior assistant commissioner Dominic Chua, director of ICA's citizen services centre, said: "This initiative to encourage the collection of the IC and passports at post offices is part of ICA's transformation plan to provide greater convenience to our customers." Members of the public can choose to collect their documents from 27 designated post offices islandwide. Currently, citizens and permanent residents are charged a collection fee that ranges between $6 and $12 when they collect their passport or identify card. Those with previously unsuccessful biometric verification in transactions with the ICA will still need to collect their documents at the ICA Building. Applicants will be informed of the collection options available to them when the documents are ready for collection. Eligible residents will need to make an online appointment at this website to collect at their preferred post office. ...

ACN Newswire
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British Tech Company Launches Worlds First Secure Technology ‘Fit To Fly’ Health Passport for Air Travel ‘VPassport’

indie
9 minutes

MANCHESTER, UK, Dec 14, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - British cyber technology company VST Enterprises (VSTE) has today launched the worlds first public 'FIT TO FLY' secure health passport designed for air travel. The cross border platform called V-Health Passport(TM) can already be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play by searching for 'VPassport' or by visiting www.v-healthpassport.co.uk.It is the worlds first publicly available secure digital health passport that the public can download and use alongside any form of Covid 19 testing and vaccination that does NOT use unsecure bar codes and QR code technology. Airlines and transport carriers can also download and use the system.It comes at a time when security over the use of bar codes and QR codes in airline travel has come under intense scrutiny following the cyber attack on the former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot. The former PM had his Qantas airline boarding pass hacked. Details including his passport, mobile phone and messages between Qantas staff about him were intercepted. The wider threats of fake Covid 19 test certificates have also been prevalent with an alarming rise in the sales of fake Covid 19 certific...

SeaPRwire
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Chinese citizen sentenced to 14 months’ jail, $2,000 fine for forging passport stamps, illegal stay

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - For more than three years, Chinese national Chen Bichun paid for new forged passport stamps in order to remain in Singapore illegally to work as a sex worker. Her illicit stay started on March 19, 2016 and came to an end on July 23, 2019, when she was finally caught in a Balestier hotel room during a police raid. On Thursday (Nov 5), Chen was sentenced to 14 months' jail and a $2,000 fine for two charges, one under the Immigration Act and another for the forged documents. One other similar charge was taken into consideration during sentencing. The court heard that her passport contained 19 entry stamps and an application to extend her short-term visit pass, all of which were forged. Investigations found that Chen came to Singapore on March 4, 2016 and was granted 14 days of stay on a social visit pass. A friend then told her that she could help her stay in Singapore and make it seem to the authorities that Chen's stay was legal. Each extension would cost $200 and last about two months. Chen agreed to the arrangement. After her friend was arrested in April 2017 and repatriated to China, Chen started getting contacted by an unidentified person to get the extensions. She w...

SeaPRwire
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Former Singaporean detained under ISA jailed six weeks for passport offence

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A former Singaporean detained under the Internal Security Act for terrorism-related activities was jailed for six weeks on Thursday (Oct 22) for flouting the Passports Act. Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff had falsely declared that he had not obtained citizenship of another country when renewing his Singapore passport in 2013. The 49-year-old, who was arrested for actively promoting terrorism and glorifying the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), had acquired Australian citizenship despite holding Singapore citizenship. Dual citizenship is not permitted in Singapore, and Zulfikar has since renounced his Singapore citizenship. Zulfikar pleaded guilty to one charge under the Passports Act on Thursday. The court heard that Zulfikar, who lived in Australia for 14 years, had applied for Australian citizenship in 2011 with his then 15-year-old son so that his child could evade his national service liabilities. Zulfikar "took no steps to renounce" his Singapore citizenship when his application was successful, said Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA) Prosecuting Officer, Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Ganeshvaran. To prevent the local authorities from disc...